This invention relates to painters equipment and, more particularly, it concerns paintbrush cleaning apparatus for facilitating the cleansing of used paintbrushes.
The problems associated with cleaning paints from wet paintbrushes for use with a different color of paint are well known. Cleansing of the wet paintbrush requires that the paintbrush be dipped in a container of thinner or solvent and then forcefully shaken to remove paint and thinner. In so doing, the artist or painter has splattered paint and thinner over the surrounding area. Additionally, the painter may have to remove even more thinner from the paintbrush to prepare the brush for application of the next color by pressing the bristles between the folds of a paper or cloth towel to ensure that as much of the thinner is removed as possible. Such a paintbrush cleaning process is undesirably messy and time consuming.
The problems associated with cleaning used paintbrushes are accentuated when an artist uses a wet on wet type painting system. For example, there are numerous television programs which feature an artist who produces a painting in half an hour or less. Such an artist uses a wet on wet painting system in which the canvas has been prepared ahead of time with a wet white paint base which stays wet during the painting process. This allows the artist to correct mistakes by simply wiping the colored paint from the wet white paint base. To paint the different colors over the white paint base, the artist reuses the same paintbrush. This requires numerous cleanings of the paintbrush for reuse. Usually, the artist cleans the paintbrush by dipping the paintbrush in a container of thinner and then whacking the paintbrush on the easel to forcefully remove paint and thinner from the bristles. The whacking of the paintbrush on the easel causes a splattering of a mixture of thinner and paint over a large area of the studio. This paintbrush cleaning technique not only is undesirable from the standpoint of requiring extensive cleaning of the studio but also because a large amount of thinner is wasted in that it cannot be reclaimed for further use.
Thus, a need exists for a paintbrush cleaning apparatus which would eliminate splatter, retain thinner for reuse and provide for a thorough cleaning of the paintbrush. This need is especially acute for artists using a wet on wet type painting system which requires numerous paintbrush cleanings to accommodate sequential application of a multiplicity of different paint colors. Further, there is a need for a paintbrush cleaning apparatus which will accommodate artists who paint in either a standing or sitting position.